Kinect Changing Film-making

The versatility of the Microsoft Kinect console continues to evolve. As the next step, film-makers have taken up the device to produce stunning visualizations, and may in the future, use the Kinect to produce 3D content.

W
e have featured a number of articles on how the Microsoft Kinect —a device intially intended for video games — has been 'hacked' for robotics and vision systems. New versions are also coming to your next laptop and other mobile devices. Now film-makers have taken up the device as well.

Jonathan Minard and James George from RGB+D are using the Kinect Sensor and a DSLR to re imagine filmmaking.

Clouds is a computational documentary featuring hackers and media artists in dialogue about code, culture and the future of visualization.

The film-makers have created a technique that allows them to map video from the camera onto 3D data from the gaming console device, generating a CGI and video hybrid.

Such visualizations could make it easier and cheaper to create 3D films using commercially available hardware and open source software.
Minard and George have recently released a preview of their experimental film Clouds, which utilizes the technique.

The feature length production will be released later this year, and you can watch the preview below: